18 Of The Most Unfortunately Placed Ads Of All Time

In the advertising world, few things are done without a great deal of thought and consideration. From mock-ups to focus groups, there are countless layers in the ad-production process that must occur before it’s sent out into the world.

That being said, everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes an ad campaign simply falls flat on its face. Some of the most hilarious instances of this sort of thing happens when an advertisement is just placed in the wrong location. Here are some of the most hilarious unfortunately placed ads imaginable. Once you see them, you’ll wonder how they ever got approved in the first place!

1. Sometimes the most well-intentioned of ads are undermined by poor placement. For example, this anti-smoking campaign suddenly becomes a recommendation for something far more sinister when plastered on the back of a school bus.

2. Oof! Though the baby model in this advertisement is adorable, her unfortunate placement over a bright light makes her look like a teeny cyborg. Sure, baby terminators could be awesome… but they could also destroy us all. It gives new meaning to “Hasta la vista, baby!”

3. Oh boy. This one seems like it could’ve been entirely avoidable. How could no one have the foresight to see how this would be an issue? Maybe it was installed on the wrong side of the escalator and it was supposed to flying upward toward the sky instead of crashing toward the ground? Needless to say, this ad is a disaster.

4. It’s hard to tell which aspect of this particular banner across the side of a muddy bus makes this such an epic fail. Sure, the mud splattered across white undies is chuckle-worthy enough. But once you notice the cheesy “Mmm… Fabulous!” slogan—not to mention the rider’s grumpy expression above it—you’ll cringe.

5. This soccer player preparing for a strike is silly enough, but the hilarity of this ad is brought to the next level once you realize that everyone who tries to climb into the back of that cab has to grab that handle! Way to drop the ball, guys.

6. It’s easy for a campaign manager to forget that their candidate’s ads don’t always get plastered neatly to, say, a stationary billboard. It’s really too bad they didn’t account for this window. We’re not too sure who would want to vote for this guy. C’est horrible!

7. If we’re going to address the big elephant in the room here, it’s safe to say that most people will only notice what’s happening when this van door is open. That said, it takes a true eagle eye to spot the next unfortunate detail: the name of the company itself. Read that URL on the driver’s side door and you’ll get it!

8. Dunkin Donuts’ smear campaigns are getting really sophisticated, huh? Just imagine how much planning must have been involved in order for them to sabotage this Starbucks van. To be fair, that’s not the first time the ‘Bucks has butchered a name. You could say they got their just desserts…

9. This might be a weird advertisement in general, but the placement of those black dots over the faces of the marchers in the image just takes it to a dark place. It certainly doesn’t help that they’re swinging their arms so enthusiastically. Heil… fail.

10. You know how they say that, sometimes, the best thing you can do is to be honest? This company wants you to know that if they can’t do something, they will make no effort to try whatsoever. You might as well save yourself some time and take your business elsewhere!

11. Bilbo, no! What sort of black magic from Mordor has done this to your face? The fiend Sauron has gone too far! We’ll have to take you to the good lady Galadriel to have this all remedied before it’s too late!

12. While a lot of these ads are poorly placed, this is one that might be perfectly placed. Just take a look at that lady’s blissful face as the driver fills up his gas tank. It looks like she loves gasoline and she doesn’t care who knows it!

13. Oh boy, this is a real strange one. This bus’s lights almost look like eyes who have seen way too much. That poor woman posed for an ad and had no idea that it would eventually end up like this. So, so sorry, Dolores.

14. This is quite the silly placement, right? Someone clearly didn’t think things through. Similar to the taxi cab that had the soccer player on it, this odd advertisement seems especially inappropriate when you imagine someone having to actually open those doors.

15. Hey, Mitchell… you might not want to advertise that sort of thing on the side of a van that you’re planning to drive around town. We’re pretty sure that you need to be at least a little more subtle with that operation.

16. What in the heck is “sex bacon,” how much does it cost, and where can we get it? These are all questions that need to be answered posthaste. Just kidding, of course. While this is not so much an unfortunate ad campaign as it is just another example of a poorly positioned door, it’s still pretty funny.

17. Well now, this one just seems especially short-sighted. How often does the simple placement of a sliding door change the entire meaning of a message? Evidently, at least once. One could say that real mates don’t let mates drink and advertise!

18. Wait a second… there’s an authority for this? Are they an authority in the same way that police are an authority? Or is it that, when you need some advice about this particular activity, they’re the experts on the subject? So many questions, so little answers! But if one thing is certain, it’s that advertisements on sliding doors should be banned.

19. A well-intentioned campaign message about childhood obesity was somewhat diluted by an ad for McDonald’s.

20. It all goes wrong when your innocent ad for an exercise studio gets placed beside a giant phallic carrot.

Wow. It might be easy to understand why these advertisements ended up falling short of their intent, there’s no forgiving why they haven’t yet been fixed!

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